As I sit here, afraid of dying, I try to understand why such a thought terrifies me. Then, it hits me. All the evidence shows that when you die, your body breaks down and deteriorates. But most of all, your brain falls to the same fate, falling into a state of decomposition. But when I think of the brain, I think of everything that makes a person…a person.

As science has shown, consciousness is an emergent quality of the mind. The mind is an advanced property of the brain. Humanity itself, and it’s history are constant reminders of a success that many of us don’t want to admit. For some of those who were taught to believe that people are a special creation of a ghost in mythology, the idea of us having the same humble origins as the tree frog offends them. However, this offense is not warranted.
Any taxonomist worth their degree will agree that people are just another one of the diverse species to populate the earth in it’s long existence. To think that this notion is a bad thing might be a hasty decision. Although we may be another species of primate to populate this planet, we are one of the most sophisticated and developed creatures to our awareness. To some people, the thought of people being another animal scares them. But for others, they are aware that we aren’t mere animals.
Unlike many species, Homo Sapiens exhibit an advanced state of awareness that isn’t seen in other creatures. Even in Orangutans, it takes years of growth for one to become aware of itself. When placed in front of a mirror, an adult Orangutan sees it’s reflection and can tell that it isn’t another ape. But people exhibit a much more advanced self than other creatures. Place the same mirror in front of an 18 month old child, and they’ll be able to tell that the baby in the mirror isn’t another baby.
People may not be separate from the animal kingdom, and they may not be perfect. We take in food with the same hole we breathe with, and we have organs that have no apparent purpose anymore. Our eyes have unnecessary connections, and our juvenile stages show a great risk of death in young childhood. But all of that aside, we are special. Not special because we’re something different. But special because we take the available resources, and change them into something much more advanced, both biologically and physically. We combine metals to make powerful bonds, craft machines that can change the condition of living for our species, and can go from the pony express to the World Wide Web in a matter of centuries. Our greatest achievement, however, is that consciousness that makes us our own. No longer are we just simple parts of a colony, working for a common biological goal. We can see others, and see ourselves as separate, complete entities. We can develop understandings of ourselves, and the world that we live in.
As it was put by someone much more versed in the science than me:

“Humanity is a testament to the truth that a part of our natural world became aware enough to reflect on the history of this world, and the importance of the smallest individual mind that inhabits it.”

Every mind is valuable. It is the only evidence that there is another entity outside of ourselves who identifies as a “me”, or an “I”. There is an identity, and with that a series of memories and beliefs. And, as someone who can think and see themselves, I value others who are like me. I am a unique mind, and if I die, there will never be another me. And I can safely assume that if I feel that way about myself, then other people deserve the same respect.